This fall, Loblaw will open its latest grocery store concept called 'Nutshell' with the slogan 'live life well'. It will be a smaller-format, health-conscious food and lifestyle retailer. It will occupy about 9,000 square feet at 500 King Street West in Toronto. It appears that the retailer will also focus on healthy lifestyles including exercise and yoga. Part of our research on this new retail concept is from the retailer's Facebook Page and Twitter Account. If the Nutshell concept takes off, Loblaw could expand it Canada-wide. The 9,000 square foot store floorplate means the retailer could open at the bottom of newly-built condo towers or in retrofitted heritage buildings like its first Toronto location.

Interior of the space soon to be Nutshell. Image: Nutshell.

The store will be located inside the King Street West area's oldest building, built in 1872. Downtown grocery stores have become more common as Canadian urban cores continue to attract more residents. This is especially obvious in Downtown Toronto and Vancouver. City centres in Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Montreal have also seen an increase in their populations and have attracted new food retailers as a result. Thank you to "bAuHaUs" of Urban Toronto for informing us of the new store's size and location. This same source also provided us with this City of Toronto Building Application submission mentioning the retailer's arrival and its Lowlaw ownership. Nutshell [Facebook page] and [Twitter][Loblaw website]